The present invention relates to a method and composition for removing Salmonella contamination from food products. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method which utilizes quaternary ammonium compounds for preventing and removing Salmonella contamination from meat and poultry products.
Prevention of food-borne illness via microbiological contamination during processing is of major concern to the poultry and meat processing industry, regulatory agencies, and the consuming public. Salmonella contamination is of special concern in the poultry and meat processing industry. Nontyphoidal salmonellosis is a continuing public health problem in the United States and throughout the world. Reports estimate that 2 to 4 million cases of salmonellosis occur annually in the United States, and associated annual patient-care costs may exceed $2 billion.
In their efforts to provide a product completely free of microbiological contamination, poultry and meat processors have encountered major difficulty in removing those microorganisms that adhere or attach rigorously to poultry and meat tissues intended as food products. Like many other microorganisms, Salmonella are capable of becoming very firmly attached to many surfaces that are used for food such as poultry and meat tissues. The microorganisms that do not attach can be rinsed off easily.
On the other hand, those microorganisms that become strongly attached cannot be removed by mere rinsing and become more resistant to removal by chemical or physical means. This phenomenon of strong attachment or adherence has been well documented and studied, but the chemical and biochemical mechanisms involved in bacterial attachment remain unclear. Firstenberg-Eden et al., "Attachment of Certain Bacterial Strains to Chicken and Beef Meat.", J. Food Safety 1:217-228 (1978); Schwach et al., "Use of Scanning Electron Microscopy to Demonstrate Microbial Attachment to Beef and Beef Contact Surfaces", J. Food Sci. 47: 1401-1405 (1982); Soerjadi et al., "Adherence of Salmonellae and Native Gut Microflora to the Gastrointestinal Mucosa of Chicks", Avian Dis. 26:576-584 (1982); Lillard, "Bacterial Cell Characteristics and Conditions Influencing Their Adhesion to Poultry Skin", J. Food Protect. 48:803-807 (1985); Lillard, "Role of Fimbriae and Flagella in the Attachment of Salmonella typhimurium to Poultry Skin", J. Food Sci. 51:54-56 (1986); Kristiansen et al., "Toxins, Putative Cell Adhesions and Fibronectin Binding Properties of Salmonella Dublin", Acta Path. Microbiol. Immunol. Scand., Sect. B 95:57-63 ( 1987); and Finlay et al., "Epithelial Cell Surfaces Induce Salmonella Proteins Required for Bacterial Adherence and Invasion" Sci. 243:940-943 (1989).
A variety of approaches have been utilized to eliminate Salmonella contamination, including vaccination of poultry, administration of antibiotics, and modifications in the processing of poultry to minimize cross-contamination among carcasses. Use of various acids in the scald tank, heat treatment by high temperature scalds, as well as the addition of chlorine to the scald tank have also been used in an attempt to solve the problem of Salmonella contamination of meat products. However, some of the existing processes may adversely effect the appearance, color, flavor, and/or texture of meat products. More importantly, existing technologies are not completely effective in removing all of the attached microorganisms from poultry and meat tissues. See, National Research Council, Meat and Poultry Inspection: The Scientific Basis of the Nation's Program, Report of the Food and Nutrition Board's Committee on the Scientific Basis of the Nation's Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 209 pp., (1985); and National Research Council, Poultry Inspection: The Basis for a Risk-Assessment Approach, Report of the Food and Nutrition Board's Committee on Public Health Risk Assessment of Poultry Inspection Programs, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 167 pp., (1987).
Accordingly, a more effective process for the removal and prevention of Salmonella contamination of meat products as well as the characterization of the mechanisms involved in microbial surface attachment would be of tremendous value to the food processing industry.